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Informist, Thursday, Jul 18, 2024

MUMBAI – Dalmia Bharat Ltd today reported high single digit growth in bottomline for the June quarter led by higher volumes which helped offset the impact of low cement prices. The company's consolidated net profit for Apr-Jun rose 8.5% on year to 1.41 bln rupees, while revenue fell 0.2% on year to 36.21 bln rupees. Analysts had estimated Dalmia Bharat's net profit at 1.34 bln rupees on a revenue of 35.81 bln rupees. Sequentially, the company's net profit fell 55.24% and the revenue declined 15.93%.

"The cement pricing continued to be weak during the quarter, but we saw a notable improvement in margins due to better input prices and the reversal of certain cost inefficiencies of the previous quarter. We are progressing well on the long-term levers of margin improvement including investment in brand, renewable energy and operationalising captive coal mines," Chief Financial Officer Dharmender Tuteja was quoted as saying in a release by the company.

Dalmia Bharat sold 7.4 mln tn of cement in Apr-Jun, an increase of 6.2% on year. "During the quarter, even though cement demand was weak across regions amidst general elections, our volumes grew 6.2% YoY while margins improved to 18.5% from 16.9% last year," said Puneet Dalmia, managing director and chief economic officer of the company. "The continuity of the incumbent government at the Centre ensures policy stability and a continued focus on infrastructure spending, which bodes well for cement sector's long-term prospects, particularly cement demand," he added.

The company's Apr-Jun EBITDA per tonne rose 2.8% on year to 901 rupees. The company's installed capacity reached 46.6 mln tn after the commissioning of 1 mln tn capacity each at its units in Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur and Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa. The development is in line with company's long-term growth strategy of increasing the total capacity to 110-130 mln tn by 2031.

Total expenses for the quarter fell 3.8% on year to 33.64 bln rupees. Raw material costs rose 7.6% on year to 5.79 bln rupees, while finance costs were up by 14.5% on year to 950 mln rupees. Fuel and energy costs, however, declined 16.1% on year to 7.57 bln rupees. The company incurred a one-time loss of 1.13 bln rupees during the quarter. The company's tax outgo for the June quarter was 490 mln rupees as against 410 mln rupees a year ago.

The company has scheduled an investor call on Friday to discuss the Apr-Jun earnings and future outlook. Today, shares of Dalmia Bharat ended flat at 1,916.85 rupees on the National Stock Exchange.  End

Reported by Pradeep Suresh V

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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